Tag Archives: Airport

THE Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall were welcomed as they arrived in Ireland by Shannon Group Chairman Rose Hynes, CEO Neil Pakey, Chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Clare T.D. Pat Breen and Deputy Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council Joe Cooney. Ms Hynes said that she took the opportunity to congratulate them on the birth of Princess Charlotte earlier this month. “We were delighted to welcome the Prince and Duchess here to Shannon and it was another very important day for us at the airport. Prince Charles was very relaxed and was looking forward to his visit. “He was very friendly and warm. He was only here for a brief time on arrival but I did get to congratulate him on the birth of his granddaughter Princess Charlotte. He was like any grandfather, very proud. He said ‘that’s so kind; it’s wonderful that it’s a girl’.” Prince Charles also noted in the conversation his …

March 13, 2015Comments Off on “It breaks my heart that we promote war” – Mick Wallace

TDs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly both addressed Ennis District Court on Tuesday, claiming Ireland is complicit in atrocities through its decision to allow the US military to use Shannon Airport. They criticised the lack of inspections on aircraft being used by the US military, claiming that relying on diplomatic assurances from America is hopelessly inadequate. The two are accused of climbing a perimeter fence at Shannon and entering a part of the airport to which they were not permitted on July 22 of last year. During evidence on Tuesday, both freely acknowledged that they had entered the area in question but claimed they were left with no other option due to the lack of inspections being carried out by the authorities. They said they had been told to provide some concrete evidence to justify inspections and that their attempt to get to a US aircraft on the Shannon tarmac was a response. Mr Wallace also spoke about his experiences …

February 19, 2015Comments Off on Five-year Heathrow slots promise on the table

IN the run up to Willie Walsh’s appearance at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications it was noticeable that while IAG were offering to guarantee that the Aer Lingus Heathrow slots would be used on Irish routes, they were making no commitments to serve Shannon or Cork. However that changed last Thursday, as after a little pressure, Mr Walsh confirmed that he was offering guarantees of five years of connectivity for the two airports. Mr Walsh also said that as it stands Shannon or Cork have no such guarantees, and that a takeover actually gives them greater certainty. While some of the Committee members asked him about giving an even longer guarantee, he insisted there is absolutely no way that he will do so. Early in the sitting Mr Walsh rubbished claims that any guarantees on connectivity would not be enforceable. “I have heard people say they are not worth the paper they are not worth the paper …

February 2, 2015Comments Off on Shannon’s needs “well understood”-Transport Minister

Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe has said he is very aware of the importance of connectivity to Shannon Airport and to business in Clare. There have been fears that Shannon’s Heathrow links could be lost if the mooted IAG takeover of Aer Lingus goes through, and while the Minister didn’t explicitly rule out a deal which could see the Clare airport losing connectivity, he stressed that he is very aware of how important the link is, and said connectivity would be an important consideration in making a decision on any bid for the State’s 25.1% stake. In an interview with The Clare Champion, he said, “We’re looking at all of the consequences that the proposed bid could have for connectivity. I’m very much aware of how important connectivity is for the Shannon region and how important Shannon Airport is. I have said throughout all of this that national connectivity and the particular impact on our regions will be vital if a bid …

Retention of slots for Irish airports must be pre-requisite in any IAG take-over of Aer Lingus, a leading industrial figure in Shannon has warned. Mr Ken Sullivan, an executive director of Element Six, said that the ability to attract further investment into the region will be undermined by any threat to Shannon-Heathrow slots. He said that Government must make retention of slots for Shannon, as well as Cork and Dublin, a prerequisite for its agreement to any deal. “This region is every bit as dependent now on Shannon-Heathrow services as it was back in 2007 when the Shannon slots were moved temporarily to Belfast. The business community here united in opposition to that move and this time around the threat is not just to Shannon but also Cork and Dublin,” said Mr Sullivan, who was vice chairman of the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance – the group of business and tourism representatives that came together to seek the restoration of Shannon Heathrow …

SHANNON Airport has rounded off a successful year on a high after being named among the award winners at the InBUSINESS Editor’s Choice Awards in association with Chamber’s Ireland. The airport, in its second year as an independent entity, won the Best Newcomer title at the third annual awards ceremony, which was held in Dublin. The awards recognise and honour exceptional business achievement and innovation in Ireland and winners are selected based on growth, profile of business, range of services and customer care. Earlier this year Shannon landed its most significant industry award ever, when it won the overall Airport Achievement Award at the inaugural Irish Aviation Industry Awards. Shannon CEO Neil Pakey said that 2014 has been an extremely successful year. “We’ve had a really strong year on so many fronts, not least with the continued growth of passenger numbers at Shannon and the finalisation of the Shannon Group. We’ve got a lot of recognition for this through international …

December 25, 2014Comments Off on McNamara wants Shannon-Heathrow slots safeguarded

CLARE TD Michael McNamara has written to Transport Minister Pascal Donohoe regarding possible threats to Shannon’s Heathrow slots. In the letter, sent on December 19, he stated, “I note reports in today’s media quoting you as having said the Government remains “open to the sale” of its stake in Aer Lingus in the context of the takeover approach from British Airways’ owner, IAG. “I would appreciate assurance that any sale by the Government would be contingent on maintaining Heathrow slots for Shannon flights and that this would be legally binding in the event of a sale. Maintaining connectivity from Shannon to London and beyond via Heathrow is key to the economic future of the Mid West an area that has not yet benefited as much as others from the recovery underway across our country.” While Shannon has had a sometimes difficult relationship with Aer Lingus, there is no doubt that the airline’s Shannon-Heathrow route is very important to business in …

SHANNON has recorded another month of growth after terminal passenger results for November showed a 26% increase on November 2013, up from 77,002 to 97,292. In keeping with trends from the summer season onwards, the biggest increase was in European traffic, with November passenger numbers growing from 7,121 last year to 20,883 this year, up by almost 200%. A range of new services secured for the winter schedule, including Berlin, Fuerteventura, Krakow, Paris and Warsaw, were responsible for much of this growth. Transatlantic passenger figures also reflected the strenghened services, with a daily Boston and six times weekly JFK New York service. Transatlantic passenger numbers showed a 15% increase on November 2013 with 2,583 additional passengers. Britain is the airport’s biggest market, and there was a 7% increase there, resulting in 3,460 more passengers. Welcoming another month of growth, Shannon CEO Neil Pakey said, “The addition of the new services on our winter schedule is reaping a strong return. We …